Public support for environmental policy in Finland: Cultural interpretations of survey results

This article studies what the Finnish people think about environmental poli cy and the policy instruments in use. It describes the main features of the public legitimacy of the environmental policy. The survey results are inte rpreted using a cultural approach, a concept of 'veil of insignificance' an d some ideas of risk society theory. The Inglehartian theory of postmateria list values is also discussed. The Finns actively support environmental pol icy when it concerns industry, businesses and landowners, but when the poli cy instruments interfere with people's own lives their support decreases ra dically. The article argues that the reasons for these contradictory attitu des are more complex than the freerider theory supposes. According to inter national surveys made during the 1990s, the Finns are less concerned about environmental problems than are people in other European countries. The art icle argues, for cultural and historical reasons, the Finns have a strong e cological self-identity which can in some conditions hinder the development of more ecological attitudes.